


in loco parentis

by Crotalus



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-09
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-07-22 14:23:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7442608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crotalus/pseuds/Crotalus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time it happened Alex hadn't meant to make a habit out of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	in loco parentis

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kikibug13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikibug13/gifts).



> From a promt meme! 
> 
> The prompt was Alexander, Hercules and bed. Somehow, this happened.

The first time it happened Alex hadn't meant to make a habit out of it. 

And to be completely fair, even that’s kind of an understatement. Because, see, the thing is- Alex hadn’t planned anything at all about it. Alex was good at- 

Look. 

He was good at every day planning, is what he was good at. Step by step, always focused, always determined and acting like tomorrow may never come because he had always been painfully aware one day it wouldn’t. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t think about the future, he just was good at breaking up that possible future into little steps he could take _today_.

So no, the first time he and Mulligan shared a bed it was definitely not with the idea of it becoming a habit.

It was not _that_ kind of sharing a bed. Mind you, Mulligan was- Alex has eyes and good taste, is what he’s saying here. But he met Herc when he needed a friend, not a lover, and that’s the role the taller guy took in his life. Alex had had no friends in New York, no family, and yet he’d made his suitcase with energy, excitement and only the slightest bit of guilt for what he was leaving behind. He’d been eager to make a difference, eager to make the fact that he had been the one to survive _mean_ something. He didn’t leave the island to put everything behind him, he left the island so he would have a future in front of him. That he ended up living with the Mulligans and getting along so well with Hercules was a stroke of luck.

So it took him a few days to get homesick.

He was fine during the day. Working nonstop, making friends, asking and prodding and asking some more to figure out his plan of action and graduation plan. Saving every penny, every single coin because books were expensive, the nice clothes he was expected to wear were expensive, getting every single thing he needed so he wouldn’t be left behind in class from all his classmates who didn’t have his brains but had other advantages was also expensive. So during the day, he kept himself busy.

But there was nothing to do about it at night. He overworked himself, he was aware, carrying notes and notebooks and papers until he pretty much dropped dead and had to be carried to bed. But it was the only way to not think, to not regret, to not dream of his mother and his brother and his cousin and a very long line of ‘and’s. He was driven, determined and smart but that didn’t mean much when he was alone at night with his own brain.

So he’d gotten into the habit of making himself a cup of coffee in the middle of the night. Yes, yes, judge all you want but it helped him. It helped him stay awake until his body just gave up, and he was too exhausted to even dream. It wasn’t healthy, it wasn’t the best kind of sleep he could get but it was the way things were so he just took it and kept on working. It worked out well, for him.

Or so he thought until he was woken up by a big but gentle hand on his shoulder, shaking him away like one would a startled animal. He looked at the person the hand belonged to (Herc, of course it was Herc), then at the mug of coffee he’d dropped when he’d just finally fallen asleep right there on the counter. The mug wasn’t broken, thank God, but the coffee was now sticky and it’d be a mess to clean up. Apparently Hercules was on it, though, and as soon as Alex got out of the way it took him only a few minutes to clean it up. Hercules didn’t look the part, but he was incredibly careful- with his sewing, with his house in general, with his kitchen in particular. Which only made Hamilton feel all the more sorry about the mess.

“I’m-”

Herc lifted a hand to stop him, and Alexander looked at him to try to read him. Try to read his expression. All he saw was a little smile. Tired, because of the time of the night, but still honest and forgiving. 

“Just come.”

Alex blinked.

“What?”

“Come to my bed.”

He motioned towards his room, making sure Alex understood before he started walking there without looking back to check if Alex was following. It didn’t take him more than a few seconds to decide on what to do.

He followed him, of course. And under the blankets, focusing on Herc’s calm and peaceful breathing rhythm once he was asleep, close enough to the Irish man to feel him but not close enough to touch him and startle himself in the middle of the night… he fell asleep.

And he dreamed, that night. But for the first time in a long time there were no nightmares.

\---

“I’m sorry you had t-”

“Alex, it’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. I’ll work on it, I promise, it’s not even every night anymore and-”

“Alex.”

“I know, it’s been months. But it’s been better, it really has-”

“ _Alex_. It’s _fine_.”

“But-”

“The door is open for you any time. We don’t have to talk about it, you don’t have to explain- the door is just open. Okay?”

“...”

“Alex. _Okay_?”

“...Okay.”

\---

And it was okay. They never talked about it, they never mentioned it, Herc never needed any explanation. He was just there, a steady presence when Hamilton needed it. That was pretty much a solid base for a good friendship, Alex liked to think..

\---

As the years went by, he needed to sleep next to Muligan less and less. But he always knew the door would be open when he needed it.

\---

Herc surprised him one day, by being the one to open the door and quietly step towards Hamilton’s bed. 

Alex had been- not crying, or whimpering, or anything of the sort. He wasn’t the kind of person to react that way to his nightmares. Usually he simply sat there, looking at the ceiling, shivering as he hugged himself and waited for his body to stop freaking out over things that _are not real, not fucking real will you calm the fuck down for a minute_ -

“Move.”

Alex blinked. He hadn’t even noticed Herc get into the room, which spoke tons about the bigger man’s ability to blend in and pop out when needed. Alex was usually hyperaware when he was in this state.

“What?”

“Move so I can get in.”

“...Herc-”

“Hamilton, it’s fucking 4am in the morning and you’ll be out in like, what, an hour? An hour and a half? Chugging coffee down to get something or other done. So move and we can both get some sleep.”

He didn’t have anything else to add to that. Alexander moved. 

\---

“Why didn’t you come?”

“…”

“Alex, you’re gonna break that mug holding it that tight. We don’t have to talk about it.”

“Laurens said-”

“...Yeah? Go on, why did you stop?”

“He said that you knew? About us. About… well. _Us_.”

“I know everything, when you gonna learn. Why’s that a problem?”

“I don’t… I thought- sharing a _bed_ \- why are you laughing?”

“Sorry, I know you mean it, just- well. You’re not my type.”

“Well-!”

“Alex. It doesn’t matter. I told you my door is open, and it still is. I’m not gonna help like Laurens’ mouth-”

“ _Mulligan_ ”

“-but if I can help when he isn’t here, until the nightmares are all gone? I want to. Okay?”

“...”

“Alex, okay?”

“Okay.”

\---

That was the first night where he did sleep touching Hercules. He wrapped his arms around Herc’s neck, and buried his face on the man’s shoulder, trying to fall asleep as he felt Herc’s big hand pat his back.

Even without seeing him he could feel Herc’s all-knowing smile.

\---

“That’s a lie, by the way. I’m everyone’s type.”


End file.
